1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to combination toy and beverage dispensing devices and more particularly to toy and beverage dispensing device combinations which are constructed so that a child user may play with the toy and may also actuate the device for purposes of withdrawing a liquid beverage therefrom.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In many cases, children, and particularly toddlers, who are necessarily confined to playpens and like areas become restless and require some stimulation as, for example, with play toys or the like. Furthermore, relatively infant children require bottles for feeding and particularly, bottles of milk or similar beverage. When the baby is finished with the bottle, he or she may resort to crying in order to have his or her needs met. Very often, it remains for the mother or other attendant to merely provide a toy in place of the bottle.
Heretofore, there has not been any effective toy and beverage dispensing combination in which the toy can function as a ball for purposes of play and also as a beverage dispensing device so that the child user can extract a beverage therefrom. There has been a need for a ball that can be used as a play item, particularly for children under four years of age. This ball must be capable of being utilized as a mechanism for feeding the child as well and which necessarily must be safe and easy to operate. Further, there has been a need for a device of this type in which there is no danger of spilling liquid when the ball is located in a playpen or similar confined area.
There have been numerous beverage dispensing bottles such as milk bottles in the prior art and which are typically of an elongate shape containing a nipple at the end for the child user to engage and draw liquid from the bottle by a sucking action. In many cases, there have been liners which are proposed for use in these baby bottles and which liners contain the milk or other liquid to be dispensed. However, beyond this, there has not been any effective combination of toy and liquid dispensing mechanism which will truly operate as a toy such as a ball and will also effectively serve as a liquid dispensing mechanism.
There has been one rather rudimentary liquid toy feeder device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,645, dated Jun. 5, 1990 to Warchime. This device generally comprises a housing having a spherical form with a conventional nipple mounted within the housing to withdraw beverage from the housing. The nipple may be extended into the housing when not in use. However, there is nothing to preclude spilling of the liquid when the device is used as a toy. Moreover, there is no means for introducing air into the beverage chamber to equalize pressure when beverage is withdrawn therefrom.
In my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 812,414, filed Dec. 23, 1991, there is disclosed a combination toy and beverage dispensing device which is highly effective for its intended purpose. However, here has also been a need for a similar device having much simplified and less expensive type of construction. The present invention thereby obviates all of the provisions of the prior art and provides an improved combination toy and beverage dispensing device.